Sherman Tabbed as Heart and NAIA Offensive Player of the Week

Oskaloosa–Ben Sherman (Grad., Troy, Pa., Master’s of Sports Management) not only impressed the league voters, but also the national ones as he picked up a pair of accolades for last weekend’s record-breaking performance.

Sherman won his third career Heart of America Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week award as well as his first career NAIA Offensive Player of the Year laurel. It is the graduate student’s second Heart accolade this fall and the third for the WPU football team in 2021.

The NAIA award is the first for the Statesmen since the 2016 campaign.

Sherman rushed for a career-high 247 yards and two touchdowns in last Saturday’s 28-17 win over Clarke. The total helped him break the school record for career rushing yards with 3,744; the previous mark, owned by James Jackson (2003-2006), was 3,709 yards. Sherman’s 92-yard fourth-quarter rush that set the new mark also tied the program’s record for longest run for a touchdown.

In Saturday’s triumph, the fullback had 15 carries of at least five yards. He started with a solid 69 at halftime, but then reeled off his final 178 yards on just 12 touches. Sherman averaged 10.7 yards per rush over the span of 23 runs.

For the year, Sherman has tallied 1,173 yards (second in the Heart, fifth in the NAIA) on 209 rushes (5.6 per rush) with 15 touchdowns. He has recorded four 100-yard games and is averaging 117.3 yards per outing.

For his 42-game career, Sherman has carried the pigskin 663 times for 3,744 yards (5.6 yards per carry, 89.1 yards per game) and 34 touchdowns.